SPOTLIGHT w/INTERVIEW - Slither by Melody Steiner

Elanor of Onyx, enslaved by the dragons who scorched her kin and country, is determined to escape her island prison.

When the changeling dragon, Adom, demands that Elanor come with him to the mainland on a secret mission, she sees this the opportunity she’s been waiting for—a chance to exact her revenge. But when his actions take a surprising twist, Elanor begins to suspect that maybe things are not as they seem.

With a plot brewing against the mainland king, alliances are tested and Elanor discovers a secret that will forever change the way she views the slithering dragons—and herself.

“Forgive me,” he says. “But when I say the word, you really should scream.”

That’s all the warning I need. If Adom wants me to scream, he wants the others to think he’s hurting me. He wants to send fear shuddering down their monstrous, twisted spines, to dry their mouths and shrivel the pits of their cavernous stomachs. He wants to show them that he is the king, the master of this mountain, the master of me.

Adom averts his gaze. “Scream.”

In the seconds it takes him to morph from human to dragon, his chest expanding, scales popping out of his skin like boils, I’m already at the door. I scream, just as he asks me to.

The full blast of flame doesn’t hit me, but it’s enough heat to sting my lower back. Good thing I tied my hair this morning—he misses singeing it off by a few inches. The monstrous roar he releases bursts a decanter on the table. The mirror cracks. But the fire inside me has nothing to do with Adom’s monster, and everything to do with my own. Only mine burns for revenge.

Melody Steiner is a novelist, librarian, warrior woman, and a mother. She grew up in a home where science fiction and fantasy were staples of the imagination. Her earliest novels were written in elementary school and involved rocket ships to the moon, alien life, and gumdrop kingdoms at war with other invading candy nations. Over the years, she found herself drawn to fantasy stories that empower female characters and particularly women of color. Currently, she’s based near Columbus, Ohio, along with her husband and the wild things they call “children.”

Her recent work, Slither, is a traditional fantasy about a young woman who is enslaved by a herd of dragons.

MY INTERVIEW WITH MELODY STEINER

What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?

To write something brilliant, funny, and with lasting meaning. 😊But I’ll settle for just adding a few more words to my personal word count.

Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?

I feel that writing is a discipline, like reading and arithmetic. The more you do it, the more you grow. But, more like arithmetic, you also need someone to check your work from time to time. You could be doing it all wrong with a new work, even if you’re a pro, and it’s helpful to get a temperature gage every now and then.

Where would you spend one full year, if you could go ANYWhere? What would you do with this time?

I’d go buy a cottage in Oxford and do a bunch of writing.

Can you share you next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?

I’m currently working on a Xena-inspired fantasy story with a warrior woman who’s also a mother and a wife. It’s a Beowulf story with a female heroine. A Xenowulf story, if you will.

I have read one book thus far and the review
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